The Children's Institute (formerly the Primary Mental Health Project)

The Children’s Institute has developed and provided prevention-oriented programs based on sound research to children since 1957. Several structured prevention and early intervention programs are provided to students, including:

Primary Project - A program developed for the early detection and prevention of school adjustment and learning problems in primary grade children.

A.C.T.- For the Children (Assisting Children Through Transition) - An interdisciplinary parent education program designed to provide separating parents with information and skills to reduce the stress of family change and protect their children from ongoing conflict.

Resiliency Program - A program that uses the results of research in factors affecting resiliency to address the needs of children placed at risk by their environment.

Study Buddy Program - A program that pairs primary grade students for class work.

Pre-K Preliminary Project - An extension of Primary Project that has been adopted for four-year-old children.

The Children’s Institute has proven effective at both improving educational achievement and behavioral adjustment. Using a prevention-oriented approach, the Children’s Institute emphasizes:

A focus on young children before problems root.

The provision of active screening to identify children experiencing significant early school adjustment problems.

Services to identify children through the use of carefully selected, trained and supervised nonprofessional help agents.